Switching motors at Morco Junction on the TN RR, an RJ Corman crew pulls up to the Indian Fork spur. A long day awaits them just a mile away at the Baldwin coal prep plant on New River, loading a ... (more)
On the fifth coal hopper and seventy three to go, the engineer eases along as coal pours thru the loadout chute.
Throwing sand on the iron, a 132 car long mixed train crawls up the grade at Oaks, with PPDs Habersham just around the corner.
Waiting on a northbound grain train to clear, at MP 212.
Getting a fill-up in the old Morley Yard, the helper engine from Chaska is almost ready to depart. Morley tunnel is visible in the background to the north.
With a unit train of black diamonds behind, N255 exits Morley Tunnel and begins the climb to Oaks.
Throwing out a bevy of sand and in notch eight, a coal drag makes a run for the grade. A helper on the rear is needed, as always, on the rear.
Sandwiched between mtys and an SD70, the first cut of 77G is being loaded by wheel loaders at Turley.
A venerable SD70 waits its turn for the second cut of coal at Turley. NS uses six engines from Sevier Yard and three back in each half, mainly for braking.
Not an easy place to get to. Smack dab in the middle of the Cumberland Mountains, fourteen loaded coal hoppers left the rail with five hitting the ground. RJ Corman to the rescue.
A freshly painted and yet battered SD40-2 smokes southbound out of the Hickory Creek #2 tunnel.
Heading north to refuel from a tanker at Morley, helper engine C212 glides silently thru Hickory Creek tunnel.
Loading with a wheel loader, three at a time, generally takes six hours. The unit train is cut into two halves with three motors for each half.
Sporting a new symbol for the KD, U335 runs out of Hickory Creek tunnel and towards Duff Mountain. No help will be needed today.
With not enough power for Q539 to make it over the hill, the crew has hooked up a long hood forward helper unit normally reserved for coal drags. Q699 and others await the fix.
An RJ Corman crew uses battered NS power to load at the National Coal Baldwin coal prep plant. The New River plant currently loads one unit train a week destined for Georgia Power and should begin... (more)
A surprise warbonnet on the Rathole, after a long and frosty hike along the Emory River. Thx Butch.
Dwarfed by the Nemo Tunnel portal, a standard cab bursts out and heads south down the grade on the Rathole.
Pulling a heavy freight over Duff Mountain and running high hood forward, a helper comes out of the sump at North Kilsyth in the Cumberland Mountains.
A fast freight roars downhill over a remote section of the Rathole at Coleman, just below Nemo.
With a trackmobile and five coal hoppers behind, the crew uses plenty of diesel and fusees to unthaw a frozen switch in extremely cold temperatures.
How to thaw out a frozen switch in nine degree weather, Take three fusees, a five gallon bucket of diesel, old shop rags, and....dedicated hard workers to say the least.
Making it's way over Hickory Creek, the daily Q539 rumbles south toward Duff Mountain. With four clunker motors, it won't need help over the grade this day.
An oddity on the KD, container train W827 makes its way north with a solo engine. A total of 5174 feet long.
Crossing the extremely rusty and rundown Hogcamp Branch trestle. Just to the right of the motor was were the Westbourne Branch turned off at one time when the coalfields were booming.
A faded lead engine crosses Hickory Creek after traversing thru three tunnels in the last three miles.
With nearly a foot of snow on the ground, this welded ribbon train has been idling away for two days on the siding.
With nearly a foot of new snow on the ground, three motors take mtys back to the coalfields of Harlan County.
Let the loading begin. With 8,000 tons of coal above our heads, the first mpty is loaded from the control room at the Kopper Glo prep plant.
Preparing to load a unit train at Kopper Glo off the Clearfork Branch, NS spots mtys under the 200 foot tall coal loadout silo which holds about 8,000 tons of cleaned and prepped coal. They load i... (more)
